Windows '98 no longer can access my floppy drives?

[kwarnock]

I was extracting a ZIP archive to a floppy disk when I got a blue screen and the computer locked up. I re-booted and since that time, I have been unable to get Windows '98 to read/access either drive A: or B:. I get the message from Windows that the "Disk in Drive A: is not formatted. Do you wish to format it now? Y N. The disks are formatted despite what Windows says. From a DOS window inputing the command A: I get a "General Failure Reading Drive A: Abort, Retry, Fail?

There is nothing really wrong with the floppy drives as they are visible in the CMOS and I can boot using a floppy disk. The drives also appear in Windows Explorer on My Computer and in Device Manager. My guess is that something has happened in the registry or to a driver but I am at a loss as to what to repair. I've restored the complete Windows directory and Registry from an earlier backed up copy when the system was working properly but that didn't solve the problem. I've also tried removing both the floppy drive controller and both floppy drives from the listing in Device Manager and then letting Windows re-detect and re-installing them, but this also didn't solve the problem.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as I said above, I'm at a loss as to what to try next.

Sure would be nice to be able to write to a floppy disk if and when the mood hits.

TIA

Ken

 

[Magicthyse]

May seem like a stoopid question, but have you tried formatting the discs in question?

 

[jmagg]

Could be a bad cable or dusty connection.

 

[Slikkster]

Here's some of the ways people have resolved this:

Do a full virus scan!

Go into the computer's case and reseat ALL your pci/isa/agp cards AND cables, not just the floppy disk drive's cable.

Use a registry cleaner application. Here's a great FREE registry cleaner app:

Regcleaner.exe freeware

To use this app most effectively, install it, run it. Then, when the program pops up on the screen, go to Tools/Registry Cleanup/Do Them All. It will do all registry cleanup tests. The list it compiles will comprise bad registry entries. To remove them, go to Select at the top, choose "Select All", then at the bottom right of the program, click on the "Remove Selected" . You'll be clean. Reboot.

Lastly, look at Microsoft's KB article on Floppy issues:

Troubleshooting floppy issues in Windows

 

[XeonTux]

When I have come accross that problem as you describe it, it usually ends up being driver issues (rather, win98's mismanagement of device drivers)

Go to safe mode. Look in Device Manager for duplicate floppies, HDs, Zips, controllers, etc. If there are duplicates for anything remove ALL instances of it. I would remove the floppy device anyway, even if there are no duplicates of it. Reboot, let windows reinstall the devices. If you still have problems go back and remove the floppy controller device.